NFL Kickoff: Catch up on football's off-season drive for medical marijuana and CBD

The new NFL season kicks off this weekend following a summer that saw new momentum in the drive to put medical cannabis in the pros’ pain-management playbook.

At the beginning of August, the NFL wrote to the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) offering to work in tandem to study the potential use of marijuana as a pain management tool for players. It’s the first time the league has offered to work with players’ union on the topic of medical marijuana.

The momentum isn’t limited to medical cannabis — earlier this year the NFLPA announced that it intended to pursue a new, “less punitive” drug policy that reflects the changing legal landscape as it pertained to recreational and medical consumption.

The Cannabist Network has all the NFL marijuana news on lock, so here’s everything you need to know before the first snap.